


Caring Quietly

by unxpctedlygreat (Yurika_Schiffer)



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: (I guess?) - Freeform, Fire Emblem: Three Houses Blue Lions Route Spoilers, M/M, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-21
Updated: 2020-04-21
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:33:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23770120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yurika_Schiffer/pseuds/unxpctedlygreat
Summary: Felix cares, even if he won't say it. Sylvain, Ingrid and Dedue can see it, though.
Relationships: Dimitri Alexandre Blaiddyd/Felix Hugo Fraldarius
Comments: 2
Kudos: 60





	Caring Quietly

**Author's Note:**

> A thing I wrote a month ago to try and get my daily word goal (which is 100 words) and it got out of hand, woops
> 
> I hope you'll enjoy it!

After they reunite in Garreg Mach and find out that Dimitri really isn’t dead, though he does not appear in a much better state while Dedue really is, things don’t exactly settle down the same as before, though many like to think it’s a close thing.

They all go back to their old dorm rooms, left dusty and unused for five years, but still familiar. Some contemplated switching rooms to stay close to each other, but it felt wrong to do so when they could still remember the daily lives of everyone that used to inhabit them. It also allows them to find a sense of routine they have long lost.

Sylvain knows, logically, that he can’t just decide to invest Claude’s old room to bother Felix more easily. He also knows he can’t steal the Prince’s room because the owner might want to retreat there sometime.

Maybe.

It’s been two weeks since they’ve reunited and Sylvain does not remember a single night where he’s heard Dimitri go to bed. By now they’re all aware that he spends his days at the cathedral and Sylvain guesses it’s the same for his nights.

Being a room away from Felix’s also means he can’t hear as easily Felix’s whereabouts. He hasn’t seen him all that much since they’ve settled in Garreg Mach. He usually catches him leaving the dining hall when Sylvain goes in for meals or on the training grounds. But there are times when Sylvain can’t seem to find him.

One day, he decides to find Felix and drag him for some fun because he’s sure Felix is either overworking himself or being a lousy grump somewhere. After five years of searching desperately for Dimitri, Sylvain likes to think Felix (and Ingrid and himself) deserves a moment to just relax. He’s certain Felix won’t agree but when has that ever stopped him?

After asking around if anyone has seen him and gathering very little information, Sylvain finds Professor Byleth, who while technically not a professor anymore, still responds to the title immediately as if it was part of them.

“Professor!” he greets them with an easy smile. They greet him back with a smile. “Have you seen Felix around? I’ve been looking for him everywhere! Remember what I told you five years ago? If you take your eyes off him, poof, he’s gone. Kinda wish he’d stop doing that.”

The professor snorts and Sylvain counts it as a victory.

“He’s in the cathedral,” they say then.

And suddenly something weird settles in Sylvain’s guts.

“Ah, thank you!” he replies with his best smile anyway. The professor waves him off when he leaves.

Felix was never one for prayers when they were children, especially after his brother’s death. Sylvain can’t say for sure it’s related but it makes sense if it is. He himself had lost a little faith back then.

Felix was never one for prayers, so there is no obvious reason for which he’d go to the cathedral normally. But nothing is normal anymore and the cathedral is the place of dwelling of one half-rogue prince and Sylvain knows for sure that is why Felix is there.

He finds him near one of the still-standing columns of the cathedral. Sylvain approaches him quietly, though in the immensity of the ruins his steps are loud anyway. His heart clenches painfully when he catches Felix staring at the broad form of their prince.

When he’s finally next to him, Felix doesn’t even bother looking away.

“What do you want?” he asks, his voice loud enough to echo. Dimitri does not so much as flinch from the sudden noise.

“I’ve been looking for you all day,” Sylvain replies, chancing glances at the prince’s back though his eyes are mostly locked onto Felix’s face. “Thought you might want to come and have some fun with me, Goddess knows you’d need it.”

“I’ll pass.”

Sylvain sighs. He knows he won’t get Felix to agree no matter what he says. Not when Felix is looking in Dimitri’s direction so intently.

If he can’t get him to leave, then he’ll try the next best thing.

“Are you sleeping at nights?”

Felix scoffs. “What are you, my father?”

“Felix.”

“I sleep at night, yes. Happy?”

“Very!” Sylvain replies with a goofy smile. He lets it slip for a moment when he goes on, “I just wanted to be sure you didn’t… ah, well. I’ll… I’ll leave you to it.”

“Hm.”

And so Sylvain leaves the cathedral, throwing one last look at Felix and hoping the other will feel his concern and, hopefully feel guilty enough to join them at dinner.

Until then, well. Sylvain will have to trust him to take care of himself.

* * *

Professor Byleth pairs her with Felix to care for the horses that week. They do it in silence, as they’ve done all the times they’ve had to work together on some chores. Ingrid doesn’t know what to say and Felix rarely ever makes small talk.

Despite the silence, they usually do their work well and quickly. Which is why today feels off.

She catches Felix lost in his thoughts several times, though she says nothing. Her eyebrows crease in concern whenever she catches him looking in the cathedral’s direction before he shakes his head slightly and goes back to the task at hands.

It’s not hard to tell what’s on his mind. Ingrid just wishes he wouldn’t keep his thoughts to himself.

As far as she remembers, Ingrid has always known Dimitri and Felix as a pair. She had met them at the same time she had met Sylvain, yes, but the two of them had always stuck together so closely that it was hard not to think of them as a pair.

She knows that her pain at seeing the prince in such a state, haunted and wild and unreasonable, seeing him hurting the way he is; she knows Felix likely feels it tenfold. She realizes, in a corner of her mind, that he probably felt it for years before any of them did.

The ‘boar’ nickname makes way too much sense now, though Ingrid and the other will still follow Dimitri’s orders for he is their friend and liege. Somehow, realizing that it’s the same for Felix warms her heart as much as it freezes it.

“Felix?”

“What?”

She looks behind her to see he’s gotten back to brushing a mare’s coat.

“I— Would you like to spar with me after we’re done here? I could use some more training on foot.”

Felix looks at her then, his eyes narrowing in suspicion. Ingrid has always felt that Felix could see right through any lies thrown at him. He probably saw right through her poor excuse of distraction, too.

“... Sure.”

She smiles brightly at him, which probably doesn’t make her offer any less suspicious. But she reasons that while she had thought it on the spot, it was still a good idea.

When they’re done and go to tell the professor, Ingrid mentions their sparring session just as they’re leaving and Professor Byleth asks to join.

Ingrid can’t tell if they’re just interested in the training or if they want to help distract Felix away from the cathedral, but she’s not going to ask and not going to complain.

She chooses a lance to face Felix, knowing that the advantage her longer range gives her is a mere consolation when comparing to Felix’s finely honed skills with a sword. He’s a formidable opponent as always, moreso when fighting on literal equal footing than when she’s riding her pegasus. It doesn’t mean she can’t hold her own against him though.

The professor calls their battle off after some time and they pull back, panting and sweaty. Ingrid can tell that Felix feels just as satisfied with their spar as she does.

After a break, the professor and Felix face each other. Professor Byleth decides that they’ll be using magic for this session, promptly ignoring the face Felix makes at them.

Ingrid knows they’ve been teaching him reason and faith ever since they gathered together a month ago. She’s still unsure about the why of it but she trusts them to know what they’re doing.

She recognizes the spells they use, some she knows to be more on the Reason side and others more on the Faith side. It surprises her to see Felix looking so at ease with the faith spell he uses. His attempts at using Thunder are less than glorious, even in her untrained opinion.

When she asks the professor about it, after they’re done and Felix has already ran off elsewhere, though she has her suspicions as to where exactly, they merely shrug.

“He’s been working hard on his healing magic,” is all they say before departing from the training grounds as well.

Ingrid is left with a bitter feeling in her chest. It’s not hard to guess why Felix would want to be able to heal someone in critical situations. It’s also not hard to guess which someone this is likely about.

* * *

When Dedue returns and falls back into his old role of Dimitri’s guardian, there’s a few things he notices.

The first time he comes to find the prince in the cathedral, he’s not quite alone. Dedue can’t say if he’s surprised when he sees Felix standing near a column, watching Dimitri closely.

The sound of his footsteps alerts him of his presence and Felix looks away from the prince, a frown on his face. Dedue doesn’t say a word and neither does Felix, but he can see the moment Felix understands that Dedue will keep watch near the prince from now on. The sneer on Felix’s face doesn’t feel so much as if it’s directed toward Dedue and that is most curious to him.

Felix turns heels and stomps away from the cathedral then. It’s just Dedue and Dimitri now, though it being just Dedue would probably be more accurate if what he’s heard about His Highness’s spirits is right. He can hear him muttering from where he stands and knows that talking to him would likely be useless.

So Dedue stands and watches. And he wonders and reflects.

It’s not been long since he joined the group again and he hasn’t heard everything about what happened during his absence, besides what he asked about the prince. He did catch many things about everyone’s doings and well-being but he realizes that in all that information, there are very few things he’s been told about Felix.

He supposes it’s not surprising, seeing as their relationship has never been a good one. The others know that as well and he can only guess they thought he wouldn’t care much about what the swordsman has been on about recently.

Finding him in the cathedral is enough of a novelty that Dedue wishes he had asked. Felix standing there and watching the prince didn’t look like something new. He wonders if Felix has been doing it ever since they all came back to the monastery. He should ask someone later.

If he has, Dedue wonders what drives him to do it.

He remembers that the prince and Felix were close friends before Duscur and that their relationship had been strained after it. He remembers that after they quelled the rebellion, Felix rejected Dimitri openly and vehemently. He remembers that, entering the Officer Academy, Felix’s behaviour towards His Highness had not gotten any better, on the contrary. Felix had made sure the entire world knew he despised Dimitri.

So Dedue wonders.

Standing watch for someone he despises doesn’t seem like a very logical turn of events. Dedue could have supposed they took turn to do this, but none of the other mentioned going to the cathedral for more than checking up on Dimitri. Felix had looked as if he’d stood there for a lot longer than a mere check-up and for far more days than he’d probably admit to.

If he’s the only one doing this so diligently, then it means that Dimitri’s well-being is something that matters to him a lot. Dedue can’t see it any other way, can’t picture it being out of wariness that the prince might turn on them.

If Dimitri’s well-being matters to Felix, then that means he does not despise him as much as he likes to pretend.

Somehow, Dedue isn’t surprised by that conclusion.

Still, he wonders. To what extent does Dimitri’s well-being matter to Felix and how much of it is the reason Felix comes here? Is tolerance for his prince’s ghastly presence really enough to drive him to stand watch?

Dedue knows he won’t be getting answers any time soon, especially not from Felix himself. But these questions bring other questions and he finds himself trying to figure it out, to figure Felix out.

When dinner time comes and Dedue finally steps closer to the prince to try and get him to the dining hall to eat, he’s not much closer to answers than he was before.

When Dimitri looks at him, lone eye widening in surprise and recognition anew, before looking around and asking where Felix is, Dedue thinks he’s a step closer to understanding.

Tolerance isn’t it.

Duty probably isn’t either.

It leaves few answers.

Dedue thinks he gets it, now.

* * *

After Rodrigue’s death, and after he finds reason again, Dimitri tries to properly catch up with his friends. It’s like walking on eggshells for him, heavy with guilt and grief as he is.

But his friends smile at him and tell him how much they’ve missed his presence by their sides. They hug him and laugh with him and tell him their stories, from those infernal five years to their daily lives in monastery. And Dimitri is relieved that they can still talk to him, that they do not fear him. He expected them to reject him, just as Felix had done all those years ago.

But they do not. They welcome him back into their circle as smoothly as during their studies.

But one thing leaves him confused, after every conversation with any of them. They all ask if he’s gone to talk to Felix yet.

He hasn’t.

Both from guilt over Rodrigue’s death, as aware of Rodrigue’s words as he remains, and out of fear that Felix won’t even let him close enough to ask for a talk.

Dedue tries to encourage him to go to Felix, one day after Dimitri’s stared too long in Felix’s direction. He shakes his head and walks on, his throat tight.

It goes on like this for days, until Professor Byleth gathers them all to plan their next move. Dimitri arrives late to the meeting, having needed a few more minutes to think. When he comes and announces that they will take Fhirdiad back, he feels Felix’s eyes on him.

When he apologizes to everyone and then more particularly to Felix, Felix only tells him to show it through his actions. To win the battle that would give them Fhirdiad back.

Dimitri can only agree to this.

He still cannot bring himself to talk to Felix alone after that.

They take Fhirdiad back and the people, _his_ people call his name and cheer for him when he walks out on the balcony of the castle. It’s overwhelming and the guilt he feels remains. But Gilbert and the professor are here to support him.

When they’re back in Garreg Mach, Dimitri waits a few days before finally gathering enough courage. He finds Felix in the training grounds easily and watches him go through the forms. Felix has always been more graceful than he is and seeing him move with his sword is always a spectacle to behold. Dimitri can’t help but stare at Felix’s everything as he moves.

He must stare too hard because shortly after, Felix stops and huffs his annoyance before turning to face him.

“If you’re here, at least pick up a weapon and fight me.”

Dimitri finds that it’s not an offer he can refuse. He’s missed this.

He wins the spar but only barely. It’s only thanks to a rather dirty move that he gets Felix on the ground with his sword out of reach.

He fears that Felix is going to call him out on that move, use it to show that he’s nothing more than a mindless beast again. But Felix merely remains on the ground, panting and looking up at the sky.

“... Felix? Are you well?”

“The professor’s used that move before,” he replies, ignoring the question. “Well, I suppose not exactly the same. But something similar. To think I’d lose to that again…”

Felix doesn’t look anywhere ready to move from his position on the ground and Dimitri decides to be bold. He steps closer and sits next to Felix, opting to look at the sky rather than staring more at Felix’s face.

“You’ve improved a lot,” he says. Felix snorts at his side.

“I haven’t got a hit on you at all.”

“That’s not true.”

Felix sits up then and looks at him with a frown. Dimitri holds up his left arm for him to see. A part of his gauntlet is gone, scraped off by the sharpness of Felix’s sword. Now that Dimitri looks closer at it, he can see he’s bleeding.

Felix’s reaction is quick.

He grabs Dimitri’s arm and looks at it, his frown deeper still before clicking his tongue. Dimitri is about to ask what the matter is, for this is far from the worst injury he’s ever got even in training, but Felix starts taking the gauntlet off his hand.

Dimitri watches as Felix holds his arm and brings a hand over the wound. His eye widen when he sees the soft glow of magic coming from Felix’s hand and the warmth of it going to his arm.

“I… I did not know you were able to use healing magic,” he says, smartly.

“... The professor taught me.”

Dimitri nods, understanding. There’s a beat before Felix speaks again, his voice quiet as if he hopes Dimitri won’t hear.

“... you keep getting hurt during battles and Mercedes and Annette aren’t always around when you need it. So I thought… It wouldn’t hurt to know the basics.”

It’s so unexpectedly honest of Felix to admit this, that Dimitri doesn’t know how to answer. He also doesn’t know why his heart beats so hard now, after hearing that Felix learned healing magic— for him.

He sees Felix’s cheeks colour pink then and although he doesn’t stop healing the wound, Felix looks away.

“Not that I care if you’re stupid enough to get yourself injured badly enough that you require immediate healing. It would just be problematic if our leader died because no one could heal him.”

Dimitri can’t stop the laugh that comes out of his lips at that. Felix’s cheeks go darker.

“Well then, I’ll try my best not to get injured too heavily so that you don’t have to worry about healing me. But if it were to come to it, know that I'm counting on you, Felix.”


End file.
